A Term of Endearment
by o0o Fiction Junction 0o0
Summary: "Remember everything you thought you knew about Pandora? About the people, about the tragedy that started everything, well forget at's just a fraction of a story, not even the acclaimed hero knows all that has to b said."
1. Prologue

**DISCLAIMER**

Jack Vessalius is not my own character , he belongs to Jun Mochizuki.

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><p>Prologue of Too Many Lies, Too Few Truths {A.K.A: A Term of Endearment}<p>

The clock ticking in the hallway was cruel reminder of what little time remained. No one would be able to blind themselves to the dark path being built before them. And soon, peace would be nothing but a distant memory that everyone will long for, and he knew that. A father of young twins, and harboring a wound that should have sent him to the grave, he knew what was creeping around the corner, and had said nothing to his naïve children. He was hiding so much from the family he had come to love more and more. Even tonight, he left his house without so much as a letter stating he would be back later.

Normally, this man wouldn't travel alone, not in the state he was in, and to prevent anyone worrying about him. However tonight couldn't risk his brother being by his side, if he was there then he wouldn't be able to talk to his father. After all, his brothers hated the very ground the man dared to walk, and claimed ever word he uttered was another lie. What the young man thought was amusing was that his brothers could see through others lies, so why were they blinding themselves from such blatant truth? How they not see how much Constantine had changed, and that he is not who he once use to be? Were they really that far in the past with that man?

Clouds blew over the full moon, and chilled the man right down to the bone. He had to stop, his pain was growing worse and sleep with beckoning him with loving arms. Wait. There really was someone standing there, beckoning him forward, and urging him to take a few more steps. He had to try, he was still standing so what harm would it be to take a few more steps. So, keeping his breathing steady he stumbled forward, and nearly fell forward too. The man's heart leapt in his chest for in fear of almost slamming into tree, he wasn't quite ready for battling inanimate objects quite yet. Besides, the tree would win and the poor man would be lying unconscious in his father's arms.

Thankfully, he didn't hit anything, but instead found someone standing in front of him, holding u by his shoulders.

"…You came…I said that if you are really in awful still that would be best for you to stay in bed." Said a man, concern was swimming in his voice.

"Please, don't act like I'm standing on my last leg, I'm far better than I was yesterday. Honestly, Jack, do you really peg me as being that weak? "The younger man asked, a smile tugging at his lips.

Jack's frown hardened,"…I've told you many times, call me Constantine or if you are feeling truly bold, father." He replied, steadying his son. "Unless you want me calling you by your middle name, Alexander, we know just how much your mother adores that name."

Alex tensed under his middle name, pain or not, he pushed away from him. Even darkness Jack could feel the ice coming from his son. And then the slightly irrated chuckle that escaped his throat as the moon broke through the clouds. Rays of moon light fell over Jack's son, his multicolored eyes narrowing into a glare, and a smirk played at his lips. Alexander trembled slightly.

"..Very well, _father_, you have learned how to play my little game family well. Still, I've told ever since I turned sixteen years old, do any unsightly things and you will once again be called Jack Vessalius." He said, tilting his head slightly as if he was curious to see what he would say or how he would react.

"Fair enough, V*c****t***. You win."Jack sighed.

His father placed a hand on the trunk of tree, and turned his back to him, and then froze. Jack heard his child's shaky footsteps, he didn't want Jack leaving yet, but then again, as of late it was becoming increasingly difficult for the two to see each other. In short, Jack wasn't going to just leave him just because of his son's reasoning.

"...Don't go you simple artisan, as much as you enjoy being the blade for darkness, and as you grow even more immune to that same darkness, I have fallen behind. I…hate it when you leave me in the dark…"

Jack shifted slightly, and then heaved a heavy sigh, he was always so dramatic, and that's something he would never change. Jack smiled as he faced him, even in this tired beaten state there was no way of not seeing the resemblance between the two. The main thing that did set them apart was Alex's eyes, the same eyes that without a doubt happened to be Jack's punishment for things that should be long forgotten about. His one wine red eye, and his golden eye always seemed to burrow through Jack's soul. But not tonight, tonight his eyes were laced with a fever that only frightened him.

"I'm not going anywhere…"He began, his smile grew a bit more despite concern swimming in Jack's mind. 'Besides, I'm not that bad a father, am I?"

His son raised an eyebrow, he wasn't sure what Jack meant by that. Not until he was standing in front of him, pressing the back of his hand against his forehead. Jack flinched at how hot his head was, his son was drenched in sweat.

"Come on, let's sit down." He suggested calmly, quickly guiding his son

"…You have to once again weld that darkness, the same one that created Pandora's fate. If you don't….mother, she'll win, and Oz and Matthew will be her new puppets. If nothing changes in the next few years the whole of existence will quake…." He was rambling, maybe this meeting wasn't the best idea.

"..I know..don't worry about any of it."

"…how can I not, she is my mother, she is my problem, and she wants my sons and I…..Mother's already taken too much from them….from us." He looks his father in the eyes with a weak smile,"..if I don't fight, if I ignore all of this, Matthew and Oz won't be the only people she will destroy.."

Jack tried not to shudder, but he knew that. Once his son was almost destroyed and tainted by his mother. If Jack wasn't careful the man resting on, his oldest son, wouldn't be coming back again if Vivaldi dug her claws into him again.

"..Don't worry, don't worry about her, little one. Just focus on the fairies you once claimed to chase in the garden."Jack spoke softly, as he looked up at the moon sliding behind the horizon.

Morning would soon come, and he wouldn't be in bed. With any luck his brothers would think that their younger brother went to attend errands on his own. Even in such a poor state, this man was insistent on letting everyone know just how independent he was. Yet, as a young child he always went to Jack for help, and the whole time he was unaware of who Jack really was to him. The only person Alexander would ever freely admit to having any flaws, any weaknesses was Jack, no Constantine Vessalius, Alex true father.

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><p>Uhh, that was overly dramatic ending. Still, redoing A Term Of Endearment, I didn't like it. It was choppy, well I hope this is better.<p>

Cookies for everyone~


	2. Chapter 1

{Note: This will be told for the most part in 1st person through Matthew Vessalius and Leonardo Knightway's. However this first part with Vincent is in second so you kinda get a feel of what's going on, okay? Got it, good! Now let the story unfold~}

Chapter One: Only Three Days Left...

Vincent sat in his chair, flipping through another novel, he didn't want to do much that morning. Hell, he didn't want to do anything. The bitter cold winter that always fell over the sleepy Rosewood every year was making his chest ache. And it normally put him in an irritable mood. The least he could always mange was being a doting father on christmas for them. However, on the 26th every year after the accident Vincent became very irritable. So much so that his sons only tried making their father's day as enjoyable as possible.

"...Ah, I just want to sleep." Vincent groaned, sinking further down his chair.

There was a blanket draped over his legs, and soon Vincent was pulling it up to cover him completely. As he shifted slightly just to get a bit more comfortable something fell out of his pocket. With a soft thump it landed on the soft carpet. Another about Vincent was that he was a very neat man, which meant he really left a fallen object on the floor, even when he was tired and in bending over to see what had fallen something dawned him. Something that stifled the pain from his chest.

On the floor, lying face up, was his phone with the lock screen flashing the date and time. 9:30am. December 26 sat back after picking up his phone. '_How many years has it been? How old will that boy be today?_'He wondered, flipping his phone around in his hands.

"My my, it seems like the games have once again, started. I do wonder what will happen in the end.."

Days Earlier:

Three days into my christmas break, and I had yet to do anything. No progress on my homework, and I haven't gotten a gift for my dad yet either. Honestly, sitting on my bed thinking about what needs to be done, and the fact that I haven't done anything makes me seem like an extreme procrastinator. Christmas wasn't here quite yet, so I clearly have time to get my dad something. But for some reason I was really starting to doubt that I would touch the book that I'm suppose to read during the Christmas Break.

Again, thinking things like this did help me understand why so many of my teachers kindia get irritated with me. I really couldn't help myself, though. It was a break, meaning I'd want to enjoy my time away from school! I glanced at the book lying on my desk, Frankenstein, ah the story about a scientist with crazy ambitions, the same ambitions that created the first zombie in the world. I sighed, I knew if my dad heard that he would reply with a dry laughter, that meant he didn't really appreciate my opinion on something, but he wasn't going say anything. He never really did say anything when I would say slightly insensitive, not unless it really gets underneath someone's skin.

That was probably one of my dad's few pet peeves, and it did help me talk to him about most things, but I still hide things. Like recently, I've started having weird dreams. It wasn't the first time I had these dreams, when I was younger suffered from the same thing. The thing is, when I was younger I only told my brother, Jack. Jack did what he could for which was reading bed time stories and letting me sleep with him when the nightmares became a bit more worse than usual. But I can't do that now, after all the day after Christmas I will be fifteen years old. I mean generally teenagers don't listen to bedtime stories.

I also doubted innocent children stories would help me, so staying silent was my best option. Granted this did mean that I would suffer in silence as well. I really didn't mind,but last nights nightmares almost changed my mind. It was...weird, and haunting as always, but it didn't leave my mind. Even when I sat up in bed, my nightmare clung to me like a second skin. Everything was hazy and surreal. The sunlight was dull and a little cold when it fell over my bed and I.I gave a small tug to my blanket in efforts of getting my brother to move a little, So far no amount of tugging was affecting him, or I wasn't really trying. The haze over my mind was making it difficult for me to really do anything, I felt...frozen.

"..Shadoe..." I whispered.

No response to me at all, was I even awake, or was I still dreaming? Just to see if I was really awake by pinching my arm, but I barely felt anything. Then I groggily felt around my nightstand with my hand when my hand felt the smooth surface of a pen. I grabbed it and lightly poked my leg with the point. That seemed to be enough to clear most of the odd feeling, it was enough to prevent me from actually driving the pen into my leg. Quickly I let go of the pen and slid out of bed.

My brother wasn't there, all that was left was a warm spot on the bed, he had gotten up recently. It was also a lot later than I had thought it was, originally I thought it was about eight in the morning, in truth it was about to be ten in the morning. I rubbed the back of neck as I looked around my room, and figured that I might as well get dressed, or go downstairs for breakfast. From behind me, I heard my door open, apparently someone thought it was weird that I wasn't at the table yet.

"Matthew, are you alright?" My dad said, his voice was covered with concern.

That was a loaded question, but I just turned around and smiled. I didn't want him to worry, not so close to christmas.

"Sorry, I was tired, so I decided to sleep in. Umm, when did Shadoe get sup? I didn't hear him leave?" I asked him, as least it was easy to change the subject.

"Really? Well, then again when he came down he did tell us that you were still asleep, but you seemed troubled. When you didn't come down after five minutes I started to worry, but if you're really fine..." He trailed off, something about the way he spoke made it seem like he didn't believe me.

I stood in silence, a little unsure of what to say I shrugged. The idea of telling him the truth about what I had dreaming about for the past two weeks didn't sound that grand.

"Like I said, dad, I was just...tired." I was being honest I was tired.

Looking into his emerald green eyes I could see the doubt. This doubt really wasn't enough to get me to speak, I mean I would talk about anything else. For instance, talking about what my mom had made for breakfast, is it something new? Or something she's made before. Then again, going down there to see for myself sounded fair more appealing than standing here talking about food.

"Ahh, all well, I'm going to take a quick shower and then eat. Okay?" I told my dad and turned my back to him. I had no really intention of letting him say anything in response. I needed to think about everything that had been happening, and sitting at a table chatting with everyone wouldn't help me.

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><p>Ah,I might re-write this chapter. To me it seemed pretty crappy, but I'm a little to cruel of critic. Anyways, the first chapter and I hope all of you enjoy.<p>

The next chapter may be posted later in the month or next month. So until next time, keep reading and writing~


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